Remember when . . .

TV stations used to sign off for the night? High Flight was a frequent ending to their broadcast day, and I've seen many versions, but I believe this is the best photo accompaniment yet . . .

http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=BvZeuzXGFb0

Hope y'all enjoy . . .

Thanks Ralph, I sure remember that. I remember one in particular with an F-86, and I remember even as a kid would move me to tears, and still does.

Randy Ryan <><
AMA 8500
SAM 36
BO all my own M's

Ralph, that was excellent.

George

Ralph,
Great film. Great memories. A kinder gentler time.

Randy C

We read that at my Dad's funeral and my uncle Don from Texas borrowed a T6 and got 3 others to do a flyover. Don flew the plane representing the missing man. I don't think it had ever been performed at that mortuary as the funeral director was sure surprised. I always think of dad when I hear an aircraft overhead as he flew everything from BT-13's through DC-10.

Bruce

The one I like best is the one with the Lockheed F-104C Starfighter. Any USAF Fighter Pilot with his salt salivated for a Starfighter. It is one of the few aircraft that just looks good sitting there. Among Fighter Jocks it was the one you wanted to park in front of Base Operations and show to the honeys. It went along with the three things Fighter Jocks love: Fast Planes, Fast Cars, and Fast W...n.....

I remember the poem and sign-off from a Minneapolis TV station many years ago...

About two weeks ago I turned on the radio and heard Garrison Keillor do a piece on JOHN GILLESPIE MAGEE, Jr.

Here's more about Magee from the War Veterans' Poetry Archives:

"On 3 September 1941, Magee flew a high altitude (30,000 feet) test flight in a newer model of the Spitfire V. As he orbited and climbed upward, he was struck with the inspiration of a poem -- "To touch the face of God."

Once back on the ground, he wrote a letter to his parents. In it he commented, "I am enclosing a verse I wrote the other day. It started at 30,000 feet, and was finished soon after I landed." On the back of the letter, he jotted down his poem, 'High Flight'.

Just three months later, on 11 December 1941 (and only three days after the US entered the war), Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr., was killed. He was 19 years old."

Another young man who lost his life in the opening days of WWII was noted F/F designer Scotty Murray ("Answer", "Topper"), a close friend of a then-teenaged Sal Taibi. A member of the Eagle Squadron flying for England, the Brooklyn native was reportedly shot down over Malta.

I do miss seeing those old clips of "High Flight". In those days, TV stations signed-off for the night, reverting to a test pattern on the screen, also seen in early mornings. "High Flight" was often the closer. (The downside of course was that back then we had our choice of about three B&W channels.)

Wish they'd broadcast those clips occasionally today --- though such sentiment would now probably be considered politically incorrect since it indirectly inspires feelings of pride and patriotism. No reason it should, actually, for it's merely a celebration of the freedom of flight.

Mike Keville

Yes brings back memories of a long ago time.

Triggers the years we lived near Sacramento Ca. My dad was stationed at McClellan AFB. Formative years of my life.